Details from former
Prosecutor-General Yurii Skuratov's report of his investigation
into activities of the Russian Central Bank finally emerged on 4
February. According to the report, the bank allowed a tiny
offshore firm in the Channel Island of Jersey to manage roughly
$50 billion of its currency reserves over five years and to
charge allegedly illegal commissions, Interfax reported. In
addition, the report said that bank officials sold federal
property, such as real estate and cars, without the permission of
the State Property Fund and used official bank credit cards with
monthly credit limits of $5,000-$15,000 to purchase personal
items. The bank also used 600 million rubles ($25 million at the
current exchange rate) from its 1997 profits for a special social
fund for employees. The "Moscow Times" on 5 January quoted an
anonymous Central Bank official as saying that "current
accusations may be based on unprofessional conclusions." JAC

BUDGET PASSAGE PREDICTED

As the State Duma began the fourth and
final reading of the 1999 budget on 5 February, both Duma
deputies and government officials were predicting the budget's
smooth passage. The previous day, the Duma's Budget Committee
recommended the current draft be approved. More important was
Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov's agreement to accept
the government's proposal to reduce spending on the presidential
administration by 20 percent rather than 40 percent, as
stipulated during the budget's last reading. When passed, the
budget will be forwarded to the Federation Council, which is also
expected to approve it quickly. JAC

AEROFLOT OFFICES SEARCHED

Investigators from the Prosecutor-
General's Office on 4-5 February searched offices of Aeroflot and
several of companies with which it contracts work as part of its
continuing investigation into allegations that Boris Berezovskii
authorized the installation of illegal electronic listening
devices in President Boris Yeltsin's office and home. Berezovskii
reportedly owns a large stake in Aeroflot Investigators are also
searching for evidence of "illegal entrepreneurial activity,"
according to Interfax. On 5 February, the Aeroflot board of
directors dismissed four senior vice presidents. JAC

SUPREME COURT PROLONGS NIKITIN CASE

At a closed hearing on 4
February, the Supreme Court decided to return the espionage case
of environmentalist Aleksandr Nikitin for further investigation,
turning down an appeal by Nikitin's lawyers to dismiss the case.
Nikitin told reporters after the ruling that he is worried that
the additional investigation "will last forever." The
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights denounced the
decision, arguing that the court ignored one of the most
fundamental principles of criminal proceedings, that the
defendant should be presumed innocent. Nikitin is charged with
including classified materials in a report on Russia's Northern
Fleet prepared for the Norwegian-based Bellona Foundation. JAC

RUSSIA POISED TO TURN OFF ENERGY SPIGOT TO NEIGHBORS

Prime
Minister Yevgenii Primakov told cabinet members on 4 February
that other CIS countries owe Russia more than $600 million for
fuel and energy. He argued that "a kind of moratorium" on further
supplies should be imposed while talks on debt repayment are
held. Regarding the chronic fuel shortages to the regions in
Russia's Far North, Primakov suggested that the problem "must be
lifted from the shoulders of government" and competitive tenders
to transport fuel should be held among commercial firms, ITAR-
TASS reported. JAC

START-II ON HOLD UNTIL FUNDING FOR NUCLEAR FORCES ALLOCATED

In
an interview with the military newspaper "Krasnaya zvezda" on 2
February, State Duma Defense Committee Chairman Roman Popkovich
of Our Home Is Russia said that the Duma must first adopt the law
on financing Russia's strategic nuclear forces until 2010 before
it can turn to the issue of ratification of the START II treaty.
Popkovich admitted that if the Duma were to ratify the treaty,
there would be no money in the 1999 budget for implementation and
probably none would be available for "the next two or three
years." Popkovich added that Russia is already "spending too much
on the liquidation of armaments under previous agreements and
treaties." JAC

LACK OF CASH DICTATES MORE CUTS IN ARMED FORCES

The size of the
army and navy must be reduced by two times if the government is
going to be able to fully fund them, according to a Defense
Ministry report on funding the armed forces until 2000,
"Nezavisimaya gazeta" reported on 4 February. Under the report's
pessimistic scenario, if Russia experiences annual rates of
economic growth of 0.5-1.5 percent, then it will be possible only
to fully finance an "Army numbering 550,000 to 600,000." Even if
the Russian economy manages to grow by 8-10 percent a year, the
Defense Ministry would not receive adequate financing for the
army's present size until 2004-2005. JAC

ANOTHER POPULATION DECLINE RECORDED

Russia's population dipped
by 401,000 or 0.3 percent in 1998 compared with the previous
year, according to a preliminary estimate by the State Statistics
Committee, ITAR-TASS reported on 4 February. In 1997, the
population also fell by 0.3 percent. As of 1 January, 146 million
people lived in Russia. JAC

WORLD BANK CHECKS UP ON COAL LOAN

World Bank officials arrived
in Kemerovo Oblast on 3 February to try to find out what happened
with monies disbursed to local organizations under the coal-
sector loan, "Izvestiya" reported. The money had been earmarked
for the creation of new jobs for unemployed coal miners.
According to the newspaper, bank officials wanted to see with
their own eyes exactly how money had been spent before they began
negotiations with Moscow on further installments. World Bank
Country Director of Russia Michael Carter had warned earlier that
the bank might suspend further installments of its coal loan,
unless it receives clarification of the Russian government's
plans for the coal sector (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 18 January
1999). JAC

NIZHNII NOVGOROD MAKING LIFE DIFFICULT FOR BUSINESS?

The Nizhnii
Novogorod municipal authorities have increased rents for business
premises, prompting protests among angry local business owners,
according to the "EWI Russian Regional Report" of 4 February.
Special breaks have been announced for businesses that serve
municipal needs, companies offering social services, and
exporters. But according to the report, this means that some
businesses will have to pay up to 11 times more than previously.
Locals now fear spiraling retail prices, coming on the heels of a
newly introduced 5 percent sales tax and hikes in petroleum
products and utilities. A similar rent hike introduced by the St.
Petersburg authorities last year resulted in many bankruptcies of
small businesses and failed to increase municipal revenues, the
report points out. JC

VLADIVOSTOK LOCALS CONTINUING TO BACK FORMER MAYOR

The Supreme
Court on 4 February rejected former Vladivostok Mayor Viktor
Cherepkov's suit against President Yeltsin's decree removing him
from office, Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15
December 1998). The previous day, "Segodnya" reported that some
residents in Vladivostok formed an association for the protection
of voters' rights and sent a telegram to Moscow demanding the
resignations of top officials of Vladivostok's Internal Affairs
Department and Prosecutor-General's Office as well as the
abolition of krai and municipal election committees. According to
the newspaper, a local theater capable of holding 300 people was
jammed at the association's inaugural conference. "Izvestiya"
suggested that the next local elections would likely result in a
city assembly that was even more strongly in favor of Cherepkov
than before. JAC

PRESIDENT OF TATARSTAN HOSPITALIZED

Mintimer Shaimiev was
admitted to hospital on 1 February suffering from high blood
pressure, ITAR-TASS reported three days later. RFE/RL's Kazan
bureau quoted the presidential press service as saying that
Shaimiev's condition is "stable" but that his doctors have
advised him to remain in hospital under observation for two
weeks. Shaimiev celebrated his 62nd birthday on 20 January. LF

KOVALYOV REFUSING TO EAT JAIL FOOD

Former Justice Minister
Valentin Kovalyov, who was arrested on 3 February told Russian
Television, the next day that he is going on a hunger strike to
protest not being allowed to contact his lawyers. Kovalyov is
charged with embezzling $50,000 and the illegal possession of
firearms, Interfax reported. He was sacked from the Justice
Ministry in July 1997, after a videotape of him frolicking with
naked women in a sauna was aired on national newscasts. JAC

'MIR' EXPERIMENT CANCELED

The reflective screen that cosmonauts
on the space station "Mir" tried to unfurl on 4 February got
caught in an antenna, dpa reported. Meanwhile, unaware that the
experiment had failed, residents of Karaganda, Kazakhstan,
assembled on the city streets at 8.04 p.m. local time that day to
witness the station's "sunbeam," ITAR-TASS reported. The next
day, Mission Control Center in Moscow decided against conducting
the experiment again. JAC

MIXED REACTION TO CHECHNYA'S INTRODUCTION OF ISLAMIC LAW

Russian
State Duma speaker Gennadii Seleznev called on those Russian
agencies responsible for the North Caucasus to determine
precisely how President Aslan Maskhadov's 3 February decree
imposing Shariah law in Chechnya will be interpreted and
implemented, Russian agencies reported. Seleznev added that
violations of the Russian Constitution in Chechnya "should be
taken for granted." Nationalities Minister Ramazan Abdulatipov
commented that Maskhadov's decision has brought him far "closer
to the extremist forces which he had actively opposed in the
past." Ingushetian President Ruslan Aushev interpreted
Maskhadov's decree as a preemptive move intended to prevent the
spread of "extremist forms of Islam" in Chechnya, according to
Interfax. Krasnoyarsk Krai Governor Aleksandr Lebed observed that
"Chechens have never been radical believers," and he advocated
trusting Maskhadov's judgement. Lebed and Maskhadov signed the
1997 agreements ending the war in Chechnya. LF

COUNCIL OF EUROPE DELEGATION VISITS ARMENIA

Armenian President
Robert Kocharian assured a fact-finding mission from the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 3 February
that Armenia is committed to democracy and complete freedom of
the press, speech, belief, and political activity, Noyan Tapan
and Interfax reported. Presidential spokesman Vahe Gabrielian
told journalists on 3 February that a Human Rights Watch report
arguing that Armenia should not be granted full membership in the
Council of Europe was based on inaccurate statistics. He added
that the report, which cited widespread and egregious human
rights violations, had exaggerated the incidence of such
occurrences, Noyan Tapan reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22
January 1999). A member of the PACE delegation was quoted in the
Armenian press as saying that a decision on whether to grant
Armenia to full membership in the Council of Europe will be
contingent on the fairness and transparency of the parliamentary
elections tentatively scheduled for May. LF

AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTER IN PARIS

Meeting in Paris on 2
February, Tofik Zulfugarov and his French counterpart, Hubert
Vedrine, discussed ongoing efforts to mediate a solution to the
Karabakh conflict, which Vedrine said undermines the region's
potential for development. The two ministers also agreed to hold
regular consultations on security issues and discussed the
potential for expanding economic ties, Turan reported. Zulfugarov
discussed the latter issue in greater depth with Foreign Trade
Secretary Jacques Dondoux, focusing on aeronautics,
telecommunications, and infrastructure development. LF

MOSCOW WANTS TO EXPEDITE SOLUTION TO ABKHAZ CONFLICT

Speaking at
the CIS Foreign Ministers' meeting in Moscow on 4 February,
Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov expressed dissatisfaction with
the lack of progress towards a negotiated settlement of the
Abkhaz conflict, Russian agencies reported. He noted the
"enormous difficulties" dogging the peace negotiations, and
stressed Russia's interest in expediting a settlement. Also on 4
February, Caucasus Press summarized the results of a poll
conducted among Georgian displaced persons from Abkhazia that
revealed 83 percent of those questioned will not return to their
homes until Georgian jurisdiction over Abkhazia is restored.
Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba has offered to allow all
Georgian displaced persons from Gali Raion to return to their
homes beginning 1 March. He has also created a government
commission to ensure adequate economic and security conditions in
the region. LF

SIX CIS STATES AFFIRM READINESS TO PROLONG SECURITY TREATY

At
the CIS foreign ministers' meeting in Moscow on 4 February, the
representatives of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan said their countries will extend their
participation in the CIS Collective Security Treaty beyond the
April expiry date, Interfax reported, quoting Russian Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov. Georgia will also do so after unspecified
amendments are made to the treaty, Ivanov added. Speaking in Baku
the same day, Azerbaijani presidential adviser Vafa Guluzade
hinted that Azerbaijan should consider not extending its
participation because the treaty failed to end Armenia's
aggression against its fellow CIS state Azerbaijan, Turan
reported. LF

UZBEKISTAN CLARIFIES POSTION ON SECURITY AGREEMENTS...

The Uzbek
Foreign Ministry released a statement on 4 February clarifying
the country's position on security agreements, ITAR-TASS
reported. The statement confirmed that Uzbekistan will not renew
its membership in the CIS Collective Security Treaty. But it
added that "this position has no relationship to bilateral
agreements on cooperation with the Russian Federation and other
states of the Commonwealth." It also states that such
relationships "will develop on the basis of generally accepted
norms of international law, mutually advantageous cooperation,
mutual respect, and non-interference in each other's internal
affairs." BP

...WHILE RUSSIA SEEMS UNCONCERNED

Russian Minister for CIS
Affairs Boris Pastukhov said on 4 February that it is pointless
to "overdramatize" Uzbekistan's decision not to renew its
participation in the CIS Collective Security Treaty, Interfax
reported. Pastukhov said "all of the CIS's agencies and
organizations are established on a voluntary basis," adding that
"it is the sovereign right of a every state...to make a decision
which it considers to be necessary." Pastukhov said he personally
has heard nothing from the Uzbek side on the issue. BP

TAJIKISTAN FORMS SPECIAL MILITARY UNIT

Following UN
representatives' criticism about the lack of progress on
integrating United Tajik Opposition units into the government
forces, the press center of the Reconciliation Commission
announced on 4 February that a special rapid reaction force
combining government and opposition fighters will be formed,
Interfax reported. The unit will be used to combat illegal
paramilitary formations still present in Tajikistan. BP

HUMAN RIGHTS WORKER DEPORTED FROM TURKMENISTAN

Aleksandr Petrov
from the Moscow office of Human Rights Watch was deported from
Turkmenistan on 3 February, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reported.
Petrov was part of a four-man team that arrived in Turkmenistan
on 29 January to evaluate the human rights situation there. After
two members of the team departed on other business, officers from
Turkmenistan's National Security Committee came to Petrov's hotel
room, accused him of possessing material that threatened the
country's security, and asked him to return to Moscow. Petrov
told RFE/RL upon his return that the "offending" materials were
earlier reports about human rights in Turkmenistan. BP

EBRD CRITICIZES IMPORT RESTRICTIONS IN KAZAKHSTAN

An economist
for the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),
Martin Raisner, told a news conference in Almaty on 4 February
that Kazakhstan should not restrict imports and should stop
giving direct support to industrial and agricultural companies,
Interfax reported. Raisner said restrictions would reduce
competition and proposed instead that tariffs be regulated to
promote competition. Raisner also said farming and industrial
companies should be left to fend for themselves but that the EBRD
is prepared to issue loans and offer technical aid and
consultation to these companies. Raisner acknowledged that 1999
will be a difficult year for Kazakhstan, but he praised the
monetary and lending policies of the country's National Bank,
saying the EBRD sees no danger that Kazakhstan will default on
its debts. BP

U.S. DIPLOMAT TOURS CENTRAL ASIA

A delegation from the U.S.
State Department, led by senior department official Ross Wilson,
arrived in Ashgabat on 4 February for talks with the Turkmen
leadership, ITAR-TASS and Interfax reported. The topic under
discussion was implementing energy projects in the Caspian Basin,
including the Trans-Caspian pipeline project. Companies
participating in that project are due to be announced in Ashgabat
on 19 February. Wilson promised his country would help mediate a
dispute between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan over Caspian oil
fields to which both countries lay claim. Wilson was also in
Kyrgyzstan on 1-2 February, where he promised officials that the
U.S. will recommend that the IMF extend further loans to the
country. Wilson also visited Uzbekistan, but there is no
information on that visit. BP

PUSTOVOYTENKO HOPEFUL OF CONTINUED IMF MONEY

Ukrainian Prime
Minister Valeriy Pustovoytenko said in Kyiv on 4 February that
his talks with IMF officials in Washington will allow the
continuation of its loan to Ukraine, an RFE/RL correspondent
reported. Presidential economic adviser Valeriy Lytvytskyy, who
accompanied Pustovoytenko on his Washington visit, in which talks
took place with IMF, World Bank, and U.S. officials, said that
the next tranche of Ukraine's $2.2 billion, three-year loan may
be drawn in early March. But he said it depends on whether
government implements a series of budget and reform measures.
Ukraine has said it may have to default on its foreign-debt
payments if it fails to garner enough financing. The same day,
the government ordered the mandatory conversion of treasury bills
maturing this month. The Ukrainian News Agency said the order
applied to some 200 million hryvni ($58 million) worth of bonds.
PB

UKRAINE TO BUILD PIPELINE FOR GAZPROM

Ukraine's state oil and
gas company, Naftogaz Ukrainy, agreed to pay off part of its debt
to Russian gas giant Gazprom by building a pipeline for it, AP
reported on 4 February. Naftogaz chairman Ihor Bakay said the
555-kilometer pipeline will run between the southern Ukrainian
towns of Ananyv and Ismayl and will reportedly cost $250 million.
It will be used by Gazprom to export gas to Western Europe. Bakay
said Ukraine gets about 70 percent of its gas from Gazprom, and
it owes the Russian company about $1.1 billion. Bakay vowed that
the debt will not increase in 1999. PB

BELARUSIAN BUDGET APPROVED IN SECOND READING

The lower house of
the parliament has approved the 1999 draft budget in the second
reading, Belapan reported on 4 February. Alyaksandr Zinchenko,
the chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance, said budget
revenues are projected at some 448.3 trillion rubles ($15.7
million) and expenditures at 414.8 trillion rubles. He said
expenditures on education have been increased by 883 billion
rubles, health by 800 billion rubles, and the media by 276
billion rubles. He said inflation is expected to reach between
90-100 percent. PB

ESTONIA WANTS TO RETAIN BALTIC FREE TRADE EVEN AFTER EU ENTRY

Paul Lettens, adviser to Premier Mart Siimann, says that Estonia
wants to retain its free trade agreements with its Baltic
neighbors and with Ukraine after it joins the EU, ETA reported on
4 February. Estonia expressed that position to the EU last week.
Lettens noted that Tallinn is prepared to give up all other
agreements with third countries that are not in accordance with
EU norms but would like exceptions to be made for those with
Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine. The request is based on the
assumption that the three countries will also become members of
the union. JC

VEIDEMANN TO STEP DOWN TEMPORARILY AS PARTY LEADER

Nationalities
Minister Andra Veidemann has announced that she intends to step
down as chairwoman of the Progressive Party until after the
general elections, ETA reported on 4 February. That announcement
follows press reports that the Progressive Party's board intends
to expel eight members of the party who have decided to run in
the elections on the list of the Country People's Party.
Veidemann, who has queried the legality of such a move, urged
that an extraordinary party congress be convened after the
election to resolve internal differences. JC

LATVIAN AGRICULTURAL MINISTER APPROVED

The parliament on 4
February voted by 66 to 21 with four abstentions to approve the
appointment of Social Democrat Peteris Salkazanovs as
agricultural minister. The previous day, Prime Minister Vilis
Kristopans and the head of the Social Democrats' caucus, Egils
Baldzens, signed a cooperation agreement (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
4 February 1999). Under that agreement, the Social Democrats have
pledged their support for such key votes as the second and final
reading of the 1999 state budget, expected to take place later
this month or in early March. JC

LATVIA MOVES TOWARD ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY

By 73 to 16 with
one abstention, lawmakers on 4 February voted to approve in the
first reading a bill ratifying the Sixth Protocol of the European
Convention for Protection of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms,
which provides for the abolition of the death penalty, LETA and
"Diena" reported. Among those who voted against were the Social
Democrats and several deputies from the Fatherland and Freedom
party and the New Party. Latvia signed the sixth protocol in June
1998, but the same month the parliament adopted a new penal code
that retained capital punishment. A moratorium on executions,
imposed by President Guntis Ulmanis, has been in place since
September 1996. JC

RUSSIAN SUPPLIES OF CRUDE FOR LITHUANIA TO RESUME?

Economy
Minister Vincas Babilius, speaking in the parliament on 4
February, predicted that Russian supplies of crude oil to the
Mazeikiai Nafta refinery will resume on 5 February, LETA
reported. Babilius said he expects the oil to start flowing to
Mazeikiai after pipeline repairs in Belarus have been completed.
According to the news agency, the Belarusian oil supply company
Druzba decided earlier this week to take advantage of the halt in
oil supplies to Lithuania to undertake such repairs (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 4 February 1999). Babilius told LETA that "according
to information we possess, everybody who theoretically and
practically could hinder crude deliveries to Mazeikiai [has]
already declared that they...[did not] and would not in the
future." JC

ROADBLOCKS REMOVED, TALKS RESUME IN POLAND

Protesting farmers
dismantled hundreds of roadblocks and government officials and
farmers' union leaders began talks on 4 February, AP reported.
Andrzej Lepper called for the roadblocks to be removed for 12
hours in order for talks to resume. His request came shortly
after police were ordered to begin breaking up the roadblocks by
force, if necessary. Labor Minister Longin Komolowski and
Agriculture Minister Jacek Janiszewski are leading the talks for
the government. Komolowski said negotiations may be lengthy
because the problems are "complicated and have grown over many
years." Farmers are seeking higher prices for their goods and
immunity from prosecution in connection with the protests. They
are opposed to reforms needed to join the EU. A poll by the daily
"Rzeczpospolita" showed that 78 percent of Poles agreed with the
farmers' protest and 76 percent blamed the government for the
affair. PB

GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTER PROMISES 'INTENSIVE' COOPERATION WITH
POLAND

Rudolf Scharping said in Warsaw on 4 February that
military cooperation between Poland and Germany will be
"intensive as never before," PAP reported. Scharping met with his
Polish counterpart, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, and Premier Jerzy Buzek
to discuss preparations for NATO membership and bilateral
cooperation. Scharping also promised Poland technical assistance
in adapting Polish planes to NATO standards and discussed
cooperation between the arms industries in the two countries. PB

CZECH SOCIAL DEMOCRATS CARRYING OUT DISTRICT GOVERNMENT PURGE?

Jitka Seitlova, who heads the group of Senators belonging to the
Freedom Union and Civic Democratic Alliance, said in Prague on 5
February that the recent dismissals of several heads of district
administrations suggests that the governing Social Democrats
intend to place their own loyalists in those jobs. Seitlova
argued that "a head of a district office is not a politician but
a civil servant. Politicizing the state administration leads to
corruption and manipulation of the law. I am afraid that the
government's decision [to remove the administrators] will not be
the last one." She cited examples of widely respected district
officials who had been sacked, CTK reported. PM

SLOVAK GOVERNMENT TO TAKE BACK COMPANIES

Prime Minister Mikulas
Dzurinda announced on 3 February that his government has begun
taking the first legal steps to re-nationalize key companies that
the former administration of Vladimir Meciar and his Movement for
a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) privatized, "Sme" reported on 5
February. Dzurinda told the Bratislava daily that he and his
colleagues are determined to undo the legacy of the Meciar years
and that they have already made progress in the 99 days that they
have been in office. The first major company that the government
seeks to take back is Nafta Gbely. The privatizations have been
widely criticized in Slovakia and abroad as a means by which
Meciar enriched both himself and HZDS loyalists. PM

HUNGARIAN, GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTERS DISCUSS KOSOVO CRISIS

NATO
forces would rather use Macedonian airports than Hungarian ones
in a possible military intervention in Kosova, visiting German
Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping told reporters in Budapest on 4
February. At a joint press conference with his Hungarian
counterpart, Janos Martonyi, Scharping said Germany might be
involved in upgrading Hungary's MiG-29 fighter jets. In other
news, Zsolt Nemeth, political state secretary at the Foreign
Ministry, said Hungary wishes to open new consulates in Kosice,
Slovakia, Subotica, Yugoslavia, and in eastern Transylvania,
Hungarian media reported on 5 February. MSZ

HUNGARY CONSIDERS GRANTING ASYLUM TO KOSOVA ALBANIANS

The
parliament's human rights committee has asked the cabinet to
examine the possibility of granting temporary asylum in Hungary
for Kosova Albanians, Hungarian media reported. The request was
made following a 3 January proposal by Stefan Berglund, the
Budapest representative of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees. Members of the committee said that Hungary, as a
country close to joining the EU, can ask international
organizations to help with the refugee problem. The Interior
Ministry announced that a cabinet report on dealing with poor
conditions at detention centers has been completed. MSZ

CLINTON WEIGHS SENDING TROOPS TO KOSOVA

President Bill Clinton
said in Washington on 4 February that he is prepared to send
ground troops to Kosova if a settlement is reached. He argued
that "the Balkans are an explosive area. They touch other
difficult areas, and unless we can contain and ultimately defuse
the ethnic hatreds in that region, they can embroil us...in a
much larger conflict.... The time to stop [the Kosova]
conflict...is now, before it spreads and when it can be contained
at an acceptable cost. If a settlement is reached, a NATO
presence on the ground...could prove essential in giving both
sides the confidence they need to pull back from their fight. If
that happens we are seriously considering the possibility of our
participation in such a force. We are discussing it now with
Congress and our allies, but no decision has been reached," he
concluded (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 February 1999). PM

ALBANIA PLEDGES BACKING FOR NATO FORCE

Albanian Prime Minister
Pandeli Majko discussed the Balkan crisis with Clinton in
Washington on 4 February. The Albanian leader said that "if NATO
comes to a decision to be present on the ground in Kosova, the
Albanian government has given the authority that all air or port
facilities, including all the necessary infrastructure that
Albania has,...will be at the disposal of NATO troops to fulfill
their mission." Speaking of his four-month-old government's
record, he noted that "we've been working very hard, and we're
seeing the first results of our hard work," AP reported. He said
that his main successes have been winning approval for the new
constitution and state budget, beginning to breach the gap
between the governing Socialists and the Democratic-led
opposition, and encouraging the various Kosovar factions to agree
on a joint political platform. PM

ALBANIAN PARTIES BACK RAMBOUILLET TALKS

Participants in an
Albanian multi-party round-table in Tirana on 4 February urged
all Kosovar political groups, including the UCK, to take part in
the peace talks on Kosova, which are slated to begin on 6
February in Rambouillet, near Paris (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4
February 1999). The round-table concluded that NATO must send
ground troops to Kosova to back any interim agreement there,
"Koha Jone" reported. The parties also agreed to hold a large
joint rally in Tirana on 5 February in support of a political
solution for the conflict. The center-right Republican Party
sponsored the round-table, whose participants include the
Socialists and Democrats. FS

SERBIA TO SEND DELEGATION TO RAMBOUILLET

The Serbian parliament
voted by 227 to three on 4 February to participate in the peace
conference. Prime Minister Mirko Marjanovic told the legislators
that the West "is knocking on an open door. We remain open to a
peaceful solution" of the crisis. But he warned that "solutions
are being offered that jeopardize our territorial integrity and
sovereignty. [The province] can never be removed from Serbia. It
has been part of it for centuries and only there can it stay."
The government is expected to name its delegation on 5 February.
The Kosovars have already agreed to attend the talks. PM

BOTH SIDES TALK TOUGH IN RUNUP TO CONFERENCE

Serbian Deputy
Prime Minister Vojislav Seselj told the parliament that if NATO
troops want to come to Kosova, they will have to fight their way
in, VOA's Serbian Service reported. Speaking in Prishtina, the
Kosova Liberation Army's (UCK) spokesman Jakup Krasniqi said that
he is "not very optimistic" about the prospects for either
reaching a settlement or of ending the fighting. "We are going
there to talk about peace and about freedom and independence for
Kosova. The war never depended on us, and its continuation will
not depend on us." He added that "it is only [the UCK's] military
force that has succeeded in raising the question of Kosova to the
international level." PM

MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT OVERRIDES VETO ON AMNESTY

The legislature
voted 79 to 14 on 4 February to approve an amnesty measure, which
President Kiro Gligorov recently vetoed (see " RFE/RL Newsline,"
25 January 1999). The law ends the jail terms for some 900
persons, including many ethnic Albanians jailed for violating the
1997 law on the public display of national symbols. Among the 900
are the mayors of Gostivar and Tetovo. Observers suggested that
passing the bill was part of an agreement under which the
Democratic Party of the Albanians agreed to enter the government.
PM

BOSNIAN SERB COALITION OPPOSES DJOKIC

The moderate Bosnian Serb
coalition Concord issued a statement in Banja Luka on 4 February
rejecting President Nikola Poplasen's nomination of Socialist
Petar Djokic as prime minister (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 February
1999), RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Concord wants
incumbent Milorad Dodik to remain in office. Dodik is currently
in Washington. PM

CROATIAN OPPOSITION SLAMS STATE-RUN TELEVISION

The coalition of
six opposition parties issued a statement in Zagreb on 4 February
charging that televised broadcasts of Croatian Radio and
Television (HRT) show an increasingly pronounced bias in favor of
the governing Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ). The statement
added that HRT often fails to report important stories and
portrays the opposition as quarrelsome. Elsewhere, the OSCE
issued a report noting that HRT remains "subject to political
control" by the HDZ. PM

ZAGREB RECONSIDERING COOPERATION WITH THE HAGUE?

Foreign Minister
Mate Granic and other top HDZ officials said in the parliament on
4 February that the Hague-based war crimes tribunal devotes a
disproportionately large amount of time and attention to
prosecuting Croats. Granic added that Croatia has cooperated with
the court better than other participants in the conflicts in the
former Yugoslavia. He warned that the government might reconsider
cooperation if the court does not take what he called a more
balanced approach. PM

SLOVENIA HAS NEW DEFENSE MINISTER

The parliament on 4 February
approved Franci Demsar, who is a physicist and belongs to the
conservative People's Party, as defense minister. His
predecessor, Alojz Krapez, resigned in October over a corruption
affair (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 21 October 1998). PM

ALBANIAN COUP ATTEMPT TRIAL OPENS

The trial of monarchist
Legality Party member Ekrem Spahia opened in Tirana on 4
February. Spahia is charged with having participated in an
alleged coup attempt last September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 15
September 1998). Representatives of the OSCE are attending the
trial as observers. The charges against Spahia stem from his
appearance on television at the time of the attempted coup. After
opposition protesters captured the state-run television building,
Spahia had announced in the name of the opposition coalition that
state "institutions are now in our hands." He also claimed that
the then government of Socialist Prime Minister Fatos Nano had
resigned, Klan-TV reported on 4 February. FS

ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT REJECTS MOTION OVER SOCIAL POLICIES

The
Chamber of Deputies on 3 February rejected by 116 to 74 a non-
binding motion attacking the government's social policies and
asking for better protection for laid-off employees, an RFE/RL
correspondent in Bucharest reported. The motion, which was moved
by the Party of Social Democracy in Romania, received support
from two extreme nationalist formations, the Greater Romania
Party and the Party of Romanian National Unity. Premier Radu
Vasile told deputies that the document was a "purely electoral
initiative, aimed at breaking the ruling coalition." ZSM

SOCIAL DEMOCRATS CONVENE IN BUCHAREST

The Committee for Central
and Eastern Europe of the Socialist International convened in
Bucharest on 5 February to discuss the EU's eastward expansion,
as well as the situation in Kosova and the consequences of the
Russian financial crisis, an RFE/RL correspondent reports.
Socialist International Secretary-General Luis Ayala said the
previous day that Romania's chances of joining European
structures would increase if the Social Democrats won the
country's next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2000. Ayala
singled out the Democratic Party and the Romanian Social
Democratic Party as the organization's only "true partners" in
Romania. Another prominent participant in the meeting, Hungarian
former Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs, said that his country is
particularly interested in Romania's integration into NATO and
the EU. ZSM

NEW MOLDOVAN PREMIER NAMED

President Petru Lucinschi has named
Chisinau Mayor Serafim Urecheanu as new prime minister, an RFE/RL
correspondent in Chisinau reported on 5 February. The previous
day, parliamentary speaker Dumitru Diacov appealed to all
political parties to show "a maximum of responsibility" since
"any actions that might prolong the current period of
uncertainty...would further destabilize the situation and could
provoke a serious political crisis." The same day, the parliament
again approved the law on the social security budget, which
Lucinschi had returned in late January. The legislature adopted
the law without taking into consideration any of the president's
objections. DI

SCANDAL EXPOSES SHADY SIDE OF TER-PETROSSIAN ERA

by Emil Danielyan

One of the key politicians who helped shape the history of
post-Soviet Armenia, former Interior Minister Vano Siradeghian
fled Armenia on 29 January, several days after state prosecutors
accused him of murder. He is now rumored to be in Paris. While
Siradeghian's supporters say he has gone abroad for medical
treatment, his enemies are convinced that he fled to avoid
punishment for serious "crimes." Whatever the truth, there are
few indications that the formerly powerful and feared minister
will voluntarily return home if the Armenian parliament
eventually lifts his immunity. And regardless of whether the
charges are based on facts--and Siradeghian and other members of
the former ruling Armenian Pan-National Movement, which he heads,
claim they are not--the Siradeghian affair is another sign of the
crumbling legacy of Levon Ter-Petrossian, the country's first
post-Soviet president.

The scandal broke on 25 January when Prosecutor-General
Aghvan Hovsepian told the parliament that Siradeghian should be
arrested and put on trial for ordering two police officers
murdered five years ago, when he was interior minister. Hovsepian
said the officers were shot dead after failing to assassinate an
Armenian-born Russian businessman, Serge Jilavian, who was at
odds with the former authorities. Hovsepian accused Siradeghian
of obstructing the investigation into the two men's disappearance
and misleading their relatives. Last summer, investigators found
what they said were the officers' remains in a Yerevan suburb.

The main witness in the case is a former interior troops
commander, Vahan Harutiunian, who the prosecutors say was
instrumental in executing the death orders. Denying the charges,
Siradeghian alleged that the arrested ex-commander is "mentally
sick" and that his testimony was extracted by force. Siradeghian
said the accusations against him signal the start of political
"repressions," which, he added, could lead Armenia to "civil war"
and ultimately "destruction."

Voting the day after the prosecutor's speech, the parliament
refused to allow Siradeghian's prosecution. On 29 January,
Prosecutor-General Hovsepian told reporters that he would again
ask the parliament to lift Siradeghian's immunity. A few hours
later, the former interior minister left Armenia. A question many
observers are asking is why the authorities moved against him
now. The explanation of the Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh)
that President Robert Kocharian wants to "break up the party"
ahead of parliamentary elections is hardly credible. The
discredited former ruling party (of which Ter-Petrossian was the
unofficial leader) is not a serious threat to the present regime.
The material self-enrichment of many HHSh leaders against the
background of a mostly impoverished population since1991 has
engendered a widespread hatred toward the former rulers. And for
many people, the flamboyant Siradeghian is the main symbol of an
official engaging in corruption with impunity. Lashing out at
Siradeghian was therefore bound to boost the dwindling popularity
of Kocharian's leadership.

That Kocharian's blow struck home was evidenced by the fact
that Ter-Petrossian finally broke the silence he had maintained
since his resignation on 3 February 1998. The ex-president said
the authorities have "disgraced" Armenia by targeting
Siradeghian. Since Ter-Petrossian did not speak out last
December, when Siradeghian admitted that the 1996 presidential
election was rigged to ensure Ter-Petrossian's second term, the
former president may well see a danger for himself if his old
comrade-in-arms goes on trial. In such a case, the former
president may be held accountable for the actions of his former
subordinate. And if the murder allegations proved true, the
disgrace caused to Ter-Petrossian would cast a shadow on his
seven years in power, which he believes was a period of sweeping
reforms constituting an important chapter in the country's
history.

Siradeghian's rise and fall epitomizes the outcome of those
reforms. Touted as a promising fiction writer in the 1980s,
Siradeghian joined the famous Karabakh committee that led the
1988 movement for the unification of Armenia and Nagorno-
Karabakh. His role was confined to "friend-of-the-people"
functions until, in 1992, he was appointed interior minister. He
held that post until 1996, when he was named mayor of Yerevan.
Siradeghian's supporters credit him with a successful fight
against crime, which declined dramatically during his tenure. Yet
that period was also characterized by the pervasive power of the
police, which also spread to the economic sphere.

Siradeghian is believed to have made a huge personal
fortune, of which his house in Yerevan (estimated to be worth $1
million) is the most conspicuous evidence. His flamboyant
behavior and extravagant, contradictory, and often cynical
discourse were apparently based on political calculations. For
example, in the wake of the 1996 post-election unrest, he
reportedly endorsed the release of an amateur video featuring a
drunken party of "power" ministers (including himself) and
generals who could be seen congratulating one another on having
successfully engineered Ter-Petrossian's re-election. Armenians
were thus given to understand that they cannot change their
leadership through fair elections.

Regardless of whether the parliament gives the green light
for criminal proceedings against Siradeghian, the political
survival of the former interior minister now hangs in the
balance.
The author is an RFE/RL correspondent based in Yerevan.